Issue tracking system(s) (ITS), also commonly known as trouble ticket systems, are computer systems that manage tracking issues within an organization, service, and/or product. ITS are commonly used by customer support departments or internal support departments, such as a company's information technology department. Also, ITS typically includes a knowledge base containing information on end users, common issues, solutions for such issues, and the like.
A ticket (also known as a case) is a basic element stored within an issue tracking system, which includes information on a particular issue. The information can include particulars with respect to issues concerning an end user, solutions provided by support staff to remedy the issues, other parties involved, timing of the issues and the solutions, and the like. Also, a ticket, being an element of an information system can include various identifiers and links, including a unique identifier that identifies a particular ticket.
For the most part, architectures of ITS are well known. Typically, an ITS includes one or more databases that are managed by a business logic layer. The logic layer provides for organizing and reporting raw data collected by the ITS, so that end users, such as support staff can better serve their clients (who are also end users). Further, the data can include historical and real-time data, so that staff can learn to improve support processes and so they can provide immediate support for urgent issues.
Furthermore, ITS and other IS providers have developed architectures that provide federated knowledge bases, so that information collected in an ITS can be merged with information collected from other resources of an organization, such as a computerized accounting system and other information systems. However, these systems typically rely on originating from a common software framework or are at least being supported by a common software framework.